Legendary Rescue Team
by Dragonartist
Summary: a rescue team to save the world from destruction
1. Chapter 1

Not strong enough

The pikachu flinches as she is, yet again, defeated in battle. Her teammates turn to glare at her, this was the third time they had tried to complete this mission and now they would need to return to town to get care for her.  
Totodile and Torchic hoist the pikachu's limp frame up off the dungeon floor and back outside toward their base. It's modeled after the team's leader, Totodile, so it's surrounded by water and painted blue.  
The pikachu is set down, rather roughly, on the grassy bed inside the base. It seemed to her that her teammates were annoyed about something aside from failing again.  
She tries to prop herself up on her elbow only to be pushed down again by Totodile, "You need to rest, again..." he adds the last word on under his breath, again with the annoyed tone, "We'll talk when you've recovered." he finishes, turning away to talk with Torchic.  
The pikachu lays on the bed, eyes wide with dread, _Talk? What does he mean 'talk'? Did I do something I wasn't supposed to?_ She questions herself at Totodile's words, not noticing Torchic leave for Oran Forest to pick up berries.  
Totodile sits beside the bed, oblivious to the pikachu's worry, "I sent Torchic out to get some berries for you. Those should be enough to bring you back to full health." he replies, a detached tone in his voice, as if they weren't friends and she was just some random stranger.  
_What is going on here?_ She wonders, _He's never been one for emotion but this is different._  
"Try to get some sleep. Torchic should be back later." he continues in his flat tone as he starts to leave.  
The pikachu props herself up desperately, "Did I do something wrong today?" she asks, "I didn't mean to faint and I'm sorry I've caused so many failures."  
Totodile turns his head to look at the pikachu, "Get some rest. We'll have a team meeting when Torchic gets back to decide where to go." he replies with a final tone, walking out the door and slamming it behind him.  
The sound echoes around the small space as the pikachu sinks slowly into the grass. She tries to forget about all the red flags she'd seen and relax. Eventually, the calm sound of the little river flowing through the base lulls her to sleep.  
The next thing she knows, she's being shaken awake by Totodile's small paw, "Torchic's back." his voice explains.  
She opens her eyes, noticing the Oran berry being held before her nose. She reaches for it, nibbling at it and feeling a warm healing wave wash over her. She smiles contentedly, finishing the berry, "So what did we need to talk about?" she asks, feeling refreshed.  
Totodile and Torchic glance at each other briefly before Totodile replies to the pikachu's question, "We need to talk about you."  
"Me? Why?"  
"We feel that you've been holding the team back, lately, and..."  
"And what?" the pikachu asks, worried about his next words.  
He grimaces, "We think it's time you left." he finishes bluntly.  
"Time I left? As in, leave the team? But..." she starts.  
Totodile holds up his paw to stop her, "I need to do what's best for the rest of the team. We can't be a helpful rescue team if we have to keep coming back with you. I'm sorry but you need to go."  
Her mouth quivers as she tries to hold back the tears. She should have been expecting this after yesterday but it still came as a shock. She bolts out of the base in tears, simply running deeper into the surrounding forest.  
The pikachu eventually stops by a large tree, sitting down by it to finish crying. She closes her eyes, letting the tears just roll down her face as she tries to calm herself and stop sobbing.  
A small pink pokemon peers down at her from a branch over-head. Mew flicks her tail, wondering what a pikachu was doing this deep into her forest. She decides to ask, floating down to the pikachu. Mew hangs upside-down in front of the pikachu's face, tilting her head to the side, "What're you crying for?" she asks, curious.  
The pikachu's eyes snap open suddenly as she tries to scuttle away from Mew, "Where did...Who're you?" she stammers.  
Mew rights herself, "I asked a question first." she pouts, "I'm Mew and this is my forest." she replies, gesturing widely around her as if to embrace the entire jungle.  
The pikachu relaxes slightly, "I'm crying because I just got kicked off a rescue team." she replies, rubbing her eyes and sniffling.  
Mew turns her attention back to the pikachu, "Aww. No wonder, then." she smiles, "That would be sad." she floats over to the pikachu, hovering beside her to offer comfort.  
The pikachu sniffles again, "Thanks, Mew." she smiles.  
Mew beams, "No problem, uhh...what was your name again?"  
The pikachu smiles, "Voltess. My name's Voltess."


	2. Chapter 2

New Beginnings

"I like that name! Voltess..." Mew muses on Voltess's name, smiling, "Voltess. It's pretty."  
Voltess smiles, "Thanks."  
Mew giggles, "No problem! Hey, you said you got kicked out of a rescue team, right?"  
"Yeah...why?"  
"Why don't you and I make a team? It would be fun."  
Voltess grins at Mew's offer, "You really mean it?"  
Mew nods, grinning ear to ear.  
Voltess tackle hugs Mew, "Of course I'd like to make a team with you!" she starts to cry again, this time out of happiness. She releases Mew from the hug, "What would we call it?"  
Mew brings her paw up to her mouth and frowns slightly in a thoughtful expression, "Hmm...Maybe, Team Pokeforce?"  
Voltess considers the name, shaking her head, "No, it doesn't sound right. How 'bout Team Legend?"  
Mew grins at the suggestion, "Maybe if I'm the leader."  
"You would be. It was your idea."  
"Oh. Team Legends it is then!" Mew smiles, giggling.  
Voltess giggles as well, "So, do you want to start right away or wait til tomorrow?"  
"Let's wait til tomorrow. There should be a rescue kit in my mailbox by then." Mew replies with a smile, "You're welcome to stay at my place."  
Voltess nods, "Thank you. I think I'll take you up on that." she smiles, following Mew deeper into the forest.  
A short while later a huge tree looms ahead of the two new friends.  
Voltess looks up at it in awe, "You live in this tree? It's beautiful."  
Mew grins, "The tree lets me live in it. It's alive and breathing, yet, and provides homes for lots of other pokemon." she explains, tapping her small mailbox, "This is everyone's mailbox so be warned." she shrugs in an oh-well kind of way, proceeding toward the tree."  
Voltess is even more awed by the tree, "It let's you live in it? Wow..." she sighs, following Mew into a hollowed out hole at the base of the tree. It turned out to be the entrance to a series of passages that led all around the tree. Mew follows them, eventually reaching the top of the tree.  
It would seem that Mew has claimed the entire canopy of the tree. One woven bed lay nestled in the mess of leaves and branches, surrounded by several small toys and other items, "Welcome to my room." she smiles, spinning in the air in a wide gesture around herself.  
"It's nice." Voltess replies, carefully balancing herself on one of the main branches as she makes her way around the area.  
Mew suddenly realizes there's nowhere for Voltess to sleep, "Oh! I'm sorry! I've only made one bed." she blushes at her oversight, "Here, take mine." she offers her mat, "I can make another one in no time." she smiles.  
Voltess smiles back, "Thanks again, Mew."  
Mew smiles, waving her off, "It's no problem, really. Now rest up. We start our team officially tomorrow."  
Voltess nods, curling up on the grass mat and closing her eyes. She can hear Mew zipping around the area, gathering leaves and twigs to make another bed. This noise eventually fades into the background as Voltess drifts off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Our First Mission

The morning light filters through the leaves of the great tree, sprinkling the dawn spots across Voltess's face as she stirs.  
The pikachu stretches and yawns, opening her eyes to her surroundings. At first, she wonders what she's doing in a tree house but then remembers what had happened the day before, "Mew..." she mutters, searching the tree for the pink legend. She eventually spots Mew, curled up in a leafy hammock strung from a branch overhead.  
Voltess smiles, "Good morning, Mew." she calls up to her.  
Mew's eye flutters open, "Hmmah?" she moans, looking over the side of her hammock and smiling at the pikachu, "Morning, Voltess. You're up early." she yawns, floating lazily down to Voltess.  
Voltess grins, "Yeah. Torchic always woke us up at the crack of dawn so this is actually late for me." she explains, embarrassed that she hadn't thought to go back to sleep.  
Mew smiles, "That's fine. We should be up anyway since we're starting our team today." she perks up suddenly, "Which reminds me. We should go check the mail." she zips out over the edge of the tree, neglecting to use the passages that she'd shown Voltess the night before. Mew returns a few moments later with a large box wrapped in brown packing paper, "Here. It's here already." she drops the box next to Voltess before tearing into the paper, revealing their rescue team starter kit. Mew pulls all the components out of it, tossing the item bag and a badge to Voltess before taking the other badge for herself. She pulls the pokemon news subscription out, placing her paw print on the signature line and zipping off again to place it back in the mailbox.  
Voltess pins her badge to the bag's shoulder strap and tosses it over her head so it lay across her chest.  
Mew comes back shortly after, "There. All set to go." she smiles, "Come on! We need to go pick up some missions!" she explains excitedly, dragging Voltess along toward the passages.  
Voltess had to run to keep up with Mew as she zips along the hallways to the base of the tree. She stops to catch what she could of her breath before Mew darted away again, "Wait up, Mew. I can't walk that fast." she calls out as Mew continues to float way up ahead of her.  
Mew turns back to see Voltess struggling behind her. She blushes, "Oops. Sorry. I guess I'm not used to being followed, yet." she laughs nervously.  
Voltess catches up to her, "It's alright. Who knows, maybe I'll get faster as we do more missions." she nudges Mew playfully before continuing on toward the post office.  
Mew smiles and giggles, darting after Voltess. She stays at the pikachu's side until the pelliper post office came into view, "There it is!" she shouts excitedly, zipping away again. She hovers in front of the board for the longest time, glancing over the missions. She stayed so long, in fact, that Voltess caught up to the legend.  
Voltess looks over the board and then to Mew, "So, what do you want to take?"  
Mew continues to look the board over, "I don't know. I'm so nervous about picking it since it's our first mission and we'll probably remember it forever and ever." she explains, eyes darting over the board still more.  
Voltess rolls here eyes, gripping the nearest request and pulling it off the tacks, "How's this?" she asks, showing it to Mew, "All we need to do is rescue a young riolu that got lost in the woods. His mother will pay handsomely for his safe return, it says."  
Mew's eyes dart over the page in Voltess's paw. She starts to nod, "Yeah, that sounds like a good first mission." she beams, laughing, "Yay! Which woods was it?"  
Voltess flips the page over, "Apple Woods. Toward the middle if he sat still."  
Mew nods, "Ok." she puffs up in a determined posture, "We shall rescue Riolu," she starts, moving into a dramatic pose, "And we shall become the greatest team there ever was!" she finishes, trying to sound grand.  
"Not at level five you won't..." Voltess replies cynically, poking a great hole in Mew's ego.  
Mew seems to deflate, "Nyuu, we do have a lot of work to do, don't we..."  
Voltess nods, "Yeah, but the levels come quick." she smiles, "We should be able to take the tougher dungeons in no time."  
Mew perks up again, "Yeah. To Apple Woods!"  
"To Apple Woods!" Voltess answers and the two take off for their first mission in relatively high spirits.


	4. Chapter 4

The Dungeon

Mew and Voltess stand before the entrance to the woods, eyeing the entrance.  
"So. This is it. Our first mission." Mew sighs.  
Voltess nods, "Yeah."  
The two stand for a minute more in silence.  
Voltess shifts the bag on her shoulder, "Maybe we should-"  
"Yeah." Mew interrupts, moving forward and into the forest.  
Voltess shrugs, following the legend inside.  
The first area was fairly uneventful, providing some berries and an apple but nothing else. The two proceed deeper into the forest as light slowly fades into semi-darkness, almost like twilight. Mew glances around at the faded light, "Is it that late already? We just started."  
Voltess shakes her head, "No, it's just the thickness of the trees blocking the light." she points at the blackened canopy above them and then to where they'd come from, "See. It's still light toward the beginning of the path."  
Mew nods, "Oh. Ok, then. Hmm, we're pretty far into this wood. D'you think Riolu is around here?"  
Voltess shrugs, "Try calling him."  
"Riolu! Come out, come out wherever you are!" Mew calls, answered with silence, "Your mom's worried, Riolu! Please come out."  
A rustling comes from beside them.  
Mew turns to it, "Riolu?"  
A grotle pokes its head out of the bush.  
Voltess shies from it, "That doesn't look like him." she replies.  
"Strange pokemon..." the grotle mutters.  
Mew turns her ear to it, "Sorry?"  
"Destroy strange pokemon." it replies, louder, its eyes flashing red.  
The pair step back, "That's never good." Voltess observes, not exactly helpful as they turn to run.  
The grotle charges after them as they flee deeper into the forest, zig-zagging as they try to lose it.  
Voltess ducks behind a tree as the grotle charges past, missing Mew narrowly with a tackle.  
"Destroy strange pokemon!" it yells, turning and charging Mew again.  
Mew dodges again, taking a deep breath and firing a decently powerful ice beam at it and freezing the rampaging grotle.  
"Listen! Please." Mew tells the grotle ice-cube, "We're a rescue team here to look for a little lost riolu. We'll leave after we find him so please, stop attacking us."  
The grotle struggles against its icy prison, fogging the inside of it with its breath.  
Voltess approaches Mew, "I don't think it wants to listen." she replies.  
Mew sighs, "I think you're right." she starts to float away, "Let's keep looking." she replies.  
Voltess nods, following Mew.  
"Riolu!"  
"Riolu."  
"Come out, Riolu!"  
"We're here to rescue you, Riolu. Your mom's worried." Voltess helps Mew call for Riolu this time, hoping to be done quicker.  
"Re...rescue?" a thin, weak voice responds to them. The lost riolu stumbles out of the brush beside the path, holding his arm like it was hurt. He smiles at the sight of Mew and Voltess, "Joy!" he exclaims before collapsing where he stood.  
Mew rushes to him, shaking him, "No, Riolu. Hang on." she motions for Voltess to come over, "He's badly hurt. I'll have to teleport us out."  
Voltess nods, running over to them and kneeling beside Riolu.  
Mew closes her eyes in concentration, surrounding the three of them in pink light as she teleports them out of the dungeon. Her strength gives out before she reaches anywhere useful, ending up on the beach south of Wigglytuff's guild.  
Voltess starts to panic, "Not good, not good." she looks around frantically, trying to think of something, "Wait! The oran berries!" she digs in the item bag, returning with two blue berries, "Yes!" she pumps her paws excitedly, placing one on Riolu's tongue and holding the other in front of Mew, "Come on, please work." she pleads with the berries.  
Mew starts to come to, reaching for the berry in Voltess's paw, "Did I faint?" she asks, chewing the berry.  
Voltess shakes her head, returning to Riolu as he starts to come around as well, "Welcome back." she smiles at him.  
"Where'd I go?" he asks, grinning.  
"Never mind. Come on, your mom's waiting for you." she replies, smiling as she and Mew lead Riolu to the post office.  
Waiting there was a very worried-looking female lucario, pacing the floor in front of the mission board. She looks up as Voltess and Mew approach, "Oh, thank Arceus!" she exclaims, running to meet the team and scooping Riolu up into her arms and hugging him tightly, "Don't ever do that again. You had me worried sick."  
"I won't. I'll never leave again." Riolu replies, returning his mother's hug.  
Mew smiles, wiping a tear from her eye and trying not to look emotional.  
Voltess giggles slightly at Mew.  
The lucario turns to Mew and Voltess, "Which of you is the leader?"  
Voltess points at Mew who nods, "I am, ma'am." she smiles.  
The lucario smiles, "A team led by a legend saved my son. I truly am grateful." she replies, holding up a bag and handing it to Mew.  
It was surprisingly heavy, dragging Mew down with it, "Whoa. What's in here?" she wonders aloud, opening the bag.  
It was filled with coins.  
"I...can't accept this much." she shakes her head in shock.  
The lucario looks at her curiously and laughs, "It's no problem, take it."  
Mew shakes her head, "No. It's too much, please, half of it?" she offers.  
The lucario smiles, "That's very modest of you." she replies, removing half of the coins from the bag.  
Mew smiles, "Thank you so much!" she nods, beaming at them.  
The lucario smiles back, "It's you who deserves thanks. You've returned my son to me, healthy and strong as ever." she nuzzles him lovingly, "Please take care, Team Legends." she waves at them as she leaves the post office.  
Riolu waves at them from his mother's shoulder as she walks down the path and out of sight.  
Mew watches them leave before collapsing, "Wow, I'm so tired. Is that how it'll always be?" she asks, looking up at Voltess who nods.  
"Yeah. Especially lately. Lots of pokemon are like that grotle, afraid of 'strange pokemon'." she shrugs, "Not sure what it's about, though."  
Mew sighs, "Oh. Maybe we should take easier missions from now on, til we get stronger. We almost failed today and would've if it weren't for you, Voltess." Mew smiles.  
A grins creeps across Voltess's face, _I'm needed..._ she realizes, _I'm the one who saved the day this time._ She laughs, happy for once after a mission, "You're right. But for now, let's go into town. We need to get an account at the bank for our present and future reward money." she replies, hoisting the still very heavy bag up off the floor.  
Mew nods, following Voltess to Duskicity Bank.


	5. Chapter 5

Lonely

Mew and Voltess approach the bank to start their account with Duskull and Persian and deposit their reward money.  
As Voltess works with the two bankers, Mew glances around the town at all the other teams of two and three. She noticed that the teams of three were usually more successful and happier than the teams of two.  
"No, I'd like to start a _new_ account. I'm not with them anymore." Voltess tells the bankers, sounding irritated.  
Mew's attention snaps back to the transaction.  
"Really?" Persian replies in a surprised tone, "I thought Totodile was going to work with you."  
"So did I..." Voltess mutters, "But no, they kicked me off and now I'm on a new team. So we need a new account, please."  
Duskull nods, "I'll need your new team name and leader's name." a dark aura surrounds a pen in front of him, poised to write.  
Mew smiles at the ghostly banker, "We are Team Legends, led be me, Mew."  
Duskull's pen writes the information Mew gave him on an account table sheet in thin, elegant letters, "All set. How much do you wish to deposit?" he asks, pen still poised.  
Mew lifts the bag Lucario had given them up onto the counter, "This. However much this is." she replies.  
Persian slides the bag over to herself, setting the bag down on something below the counter, "It weighs out to 2,000 poke."  
Mew mouths '2000' in surprise to Voltess.  
Duskull's pen writes the amount on the opening balance line on Team Legend's sheet in the same elegant writing as before, "Thank you for your business. Your coins shall rest in peace." he replies, placing the accent over the 'e' as Persian carries the bag into the vault.  
"Is that it then?" Mew asks.  
"That's it." Duskull sets the pen down and files the sheet beneath the counter.  
Mew smiles, "Cool. Thank you, Duskull and Persian." she waves as she and Voltess leave toward home.  
"The pleasure is ours." he replies softly.

The two friends continue down the path that leads to the Great Tree. Mew couldn't help but think about the other teams she'd seen in town, "Hey, Voltess. What do you think about our team?"  
"As far as what?" Voltess asks.  
"As far as members. I think we need to start recruiting." Mew replies.  
"Huh? Why?"  
"Did you see the other teams in town? They all had more members and they looked more successful and happy."  
Voltess glances down, "Happiness isn't the number of members, it's the quality of them and success is in the strength of the team." she explains.  
Mew hangs her head, "I'd still like to grow our team. You can never have too many friends and allies."  
Voltess smiles, "You're right. We can try to recruit pokemon tomorrow. I don't know about you but I'm tired."  
"Yeah, tomorrow." Mew replies as the Great Tree came into view. Voltess ran for the passages and Mew darts straight up for the canopy. Mew arrives in the base first but Voltess is only a minute later.  
"You took the short cut, cheater." Voltess jokes.  
"It's not cheating if you can fly," she taunts, giggling.  
Voltess laughs, "Right." she pulls the bag off over her head, setting it down beside her bed before falling onto it, "Night, Mew." she calls, closing her eyes.  
Mew dart up to her hammock, "Night, Voltess." she replies, also closing her eyes and floating off to sleep.

Mew's dream troubled her. In her dream, she was fighting something. She couldn't tell what it was but it scared her and yet she didn't run from it. The thing was trying to destroy something important and she was the only thing that could stop it. She moves in to attack the thing but is overwhelmed by pain and crashes, watching as the important thing is destroyed. Her last vision as the dream fades is a bird-like pokemon looming over her, a wicked grin on it's face.  
Mew starts awake. The tree was still dark and Voltess was asleep. Mew pats herself down, assuring herself that she was still there, "What was that about? My dreams are usually so nice."  
A deeper shadow darts across the darkness in the canopy.  
Mew's heart jumps into her throat, "What? W-who's there?" she asks shakily but the shadow was gone. Mew curls into a small, pink ball. She's very scared, _Please just be a bad dream..._ she pleads with the night, nuzzling into her hammock again and falling back to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

A New Member

Mew wakes with the sun warming her face. The nightmare had disappeared, leaving only Mew's usual nice dreams for the rest of the night.  
Voltess stirs next, stretching on her mat. She smiles up at Mew, already awake, "Morning."  
Mew forces a smile, "Morning." she decides to keep the nightmare to herself, not wanting to worry Voltess about it.  
"Ready for another mission today?" Voltess asks, slinging the bag over he shoulder.  
Mew nods, "Yep." she smiles, floating up out of her hammock.  
Voltess nods, dashing for the passages as Mew flies off toward the mailbox. She checks it before Voltess can get out of the tree. There isn't anything there aside from a new issue of Pokemon News. Mew sighs, returning to the base to store it. They'd read it later.  
Voltess is waiting by the time Mew returns to the box, "Ready to go?"  
Mew nods, continuing on to the mission board like yesterday.  
Voltess pulls two easy missions off the board, "These both go to the same dungeon. I bet we could handle both at once."  
Mew purses her lips, "I don't know about that. We just started yesterday and barely succeeded at one mission."  
"That was a harder mission, though. These are both simple." Voltess insists. The two missions were both easy, one involving a delivery and the other a simple rescue.  
"Fine. We can try. Where are they?"  
"Both are at the Beach Cave, come on." she runs off to the beach south of the guild.  
Mew smiles, the Beach Cave was a very low-level dungeon. The new guild recruits went there for their first missions so it should be easy. Mew follows Voltess excitedly, truly happy for the first time that day.

The missions themselves were relatively boring. Voltess tracked down a Pecha berry for the first mission and Mew managed to rescue the lost and confused marill in the final room of Beach Cave.  
After such an uneventful set of missions, Mew and Voltess are surprisingly tired. They return to the Great Tree for rest.  
Mew floats half-heartedly beside Voltess, "That was boring. I vote that we try for slightly harder missions. I don't think we can handle the same level as the first one quite yet but we're higher than E-rank."  
Voltess nods, "Agreed." she sighs, looking up to the Great Tree. She notices a small, deer-like pokemon standing on a sunny branch. She nudges Mew, "Hey. What's that?" she asks, pointing at the pokemon.  
Mew shrugs, "Dunno. I've never seen it before."  
"Maybe you should go talk to it. Ask it what it wants."  
Mew nods, floating up to the pokemon.  
As she approaches, additional details become visible. The pokemon is just a little shorter than Mew and has a white body with green paws with a red, cape-like flower on its back. The pokemon looks over at Mew as she approaches, "Hello, Mew. We meet at last."  
Mew stops in her tracks, "Have... we met before?"  
The pokemon shakes her head, "No. But I've been watching you. My name is Shaymin, and I'm one of the Great Tree's guardians."  
"Shaymin?" Mew asks.  
Shaymin nods, "My job is to protect this tree from harm. We have been watching you since you moved in all those years ago, waiting to see what your intentions were."  
"I was just looking for a home!" Mew exclaims quickly, defensive.  
Shaymin smiles, "We know. You've done nothing wrong and in fact seem to make the tree happy. I think it was lonely after Celebi left..." she adds the last part on under her breath so Mew couldn't hear, "I'm here to ask your friendship. I noticed that you started a rescue team with that pikachu there." Shaymin nods to Voltess still waiting on the ground, "I've been longing for an excuse to get out and see more of the world. The other guardians seem to have things covered here so I'm not needed as much as I used to be."  
Mew can't speak, the suddenness of the new member a little much.  
"I'm free to come with you, if you'll have me." Shaymin finishes, sitting down on the branch to await Mew's response.  
"I..." Mew starts, turning to Voltess.  
Voltess turns her head in a questioning expression.  
Mew turns back to Shaymin, "I'll be right back. Wait here." she darts back to Voltess.  
"What's going on?" Voltess asks.  
"That pokemon up there is called Shaymin and she wants to join the team."  
Voltess is shocked, "Really? What did you say?"  
"I didn't say anything yet. I wanted your opinion."  
"Well, I say let her join. You yourself said you wanted more members." Voltess smiles, "This is your chance. It's a free member."  
Mew nods, returning to Shaymin, "Of course we'll have you!" she smiles, "Welcome to Team Legends, Shaymin."


	7. Chapter 7

Another Dream

With Shaymin's help, Team Legends accomplishes several more missions on their way up the ranks of great rescue teams. All members gains several levels and feel braver and more powerful with each passing day.  
Mew's nightmare is now a distant memory, dismissed as a freak occurrence until...  
"G'night everyone." Shaymin smiles, shifting into her smaller, more hedge-hog like form as she curls up to sleep next to Voltess.  
"Night." Mew calls to her already sleeping teammates before settling into her hammock for another restful sleep.  
However, her dream wasn't filled with the usual calming sensations she'd come to expect. No, this was different. It was dark with only a single blue light off in the distance.  
Mew hugs her tail, feeling afraid again, _This feeling...I've felt this before. I'm having another nightmare._  
The blue light flickers slightly, hovering inside a mass of deeper black. It vaguely reminded her of something she'd seen before, that billowing shape.  
_The shadow. That's the shadow from the first nightmare._ She realizes as the shadow and the light rush toward her, engulfing her in the darkness.  
She sees three shapes; blue, yellow, and red shapes. They're fighting; working to destroy another, white shape.  
_What does it mean?_ She wonders as the vision fades. She bolts up, wide-awake, "What's going on here? I'm having nightmares again."  
Shaymin stirs below her, rubbing her eyes sleepily, "Mew? Is something wrong?" she asks.  
Mew frowns, debating whether or not to tell Shaymin about the dreams. She shakes her head, "No. It's just a dream. Go back to sleep." she replies, turning away.  
Shaymin tilts her head, frowning, "A dream, or a nightmare?"  
Mew turns back to Shaymin, "A nightmare... Why?"  
Shaymin rises from the mat, shuffling over toward the middle of the room, "Darkrai might be trying to tell you something." she replies.  
"Darkrai?"  
Shaymin nods, "He's one of the other guardians and very in-tune with the balance of the world. He always seems to know when things are going to go wrong and tries to warn others before they happen."  
"So, Darkrai is trying to tell me that something's going to happen? Why can he just talk to me? I don't like having nightmares."  
Shaymin smiles, "He doesn't like being out in the open. It's in his nature."  
Mew sighs, "Why me, though? Why am I the one getting nightmares?"  
"Darkrai probably chose you for your caring nature. You'd be able to tell that is wasn't a normal dream and work to find its meaning." Shaymin replies, "What was the nightmare?" she asks.  
"Well, the first one was about something trying to destroy something important. It was really vague. And now this one had three colored shapes trying to destroy a white shape."  
Shaymin nods, "Were the shapes in the second one shaped like anything?"  
Mew concentrates, thinking hard about he dream, "Uh, kind of. They sort of resembled birds. Do you know of anything like that?"  
Shaymin shakes her head, "No but maybe something will surface tomorrow." she smiles, "Try to go back to sleep, for now." she replies, walking back to Voltess's mat and curling up again.  
Mew nods, curling into her hammock once more.


	8. Chapter 8

An Official Commision

The next morning, Mew awakes first. She floats up out of her hammock and down to the floor, stretching her muscles like she did every morning.  
Shaymin had changed form again, becoming the deer-like pokemon they'd first met her as. She yawns, arching her back as she wakes, "Good morning everyone." she smiles.  
"Morning Shaymin." Mew replies, lounging in her hammock.  
"Any more dreams?"  
Mew shakes her head, "Hopefully it's the last one for a while." she shivers, "They're always so scary."  
Shaymin nods in response as Voltess stirs.  
Mew smiles at the pikachu, "Morning, Sunshine." she giggles.  
Voltess rubs her eyes, "What're we doin today?" she asks groggily.  
"Dunno yet. We're waiting for you to wake up." Mew replies, twitching her tail playfully.  
"Thanks." Voltess replies flatly, swinging the item bag over her shoulder, "Race you to the bottom." she grins at Shaymin.  
Shaymin grins, "You're on." she replies, sprinting off toward the passages with Voltess.  
Mew flies out over the edge of the tree like she always did, reaching the mailbox first and sifting through the letters to find their job offers. She finds a new kind of envelope today, a sort of red and urgent-looking one. Curious, she pulls it out and runs a claw along the top and pulling the letter out.

_Dear Rescue Teams,_

_An emergency has come to our attention. The legendary birds Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres have met and are having their differences. Several high-level teams have gone only to be turned back by the sheer power of the forces involved.__  
__Lugia has even tried to stop the fighting but is tired and severely injured._

_Your mission as a member of the Rescue Team Agency is to quell the fighting by any means necessary. If that means fighting the birds, so be it._

_Good Luck,__  
__Pelliper Post, proud messenger of the Rescue Team Agency_

Voltess and Shaymin trot up behind Mew as she reads the letter, "What's up? Do we have a mission?" Voltess asks, seeming in a good mood.  
Mew's usual bright and happy face looks grave, "We have an urgent commission, straight from the agency." she replies, showing Voltess and Shaymin the letter.  
Shaymin reads through the letter, "We should leave immediately, then. It sounds like it requires all the teams in action right now."  
"But do you think we can help? We're still a pretty young team." Mew replies.  
"Confidence. Come on, have faith." Shaymin replies, a confident grin on her face, "We can do this."  
Mew looks to Voltess, who shrugs, "Works for me. All we can do is try." Voltess adds.  
Mew nods, "Let's go. To-" Mew checks the page, "-the Legendary Isles!" she exclaims, leading her team on to the location.


	9. Chapter 9

A Fatal Encounter

Mew, Voltess, and Shaymin arrive at the Legendary Isles. They stand in awe of the destruction taking place as the three birds try to destroy each other.  
Lugia lies to the side, severely injured with blood crusting on her pink and white feathers. She raises her head weakly as Mew's team approaches her, shaking it side to side with a scared and worried expression in her eyes.  
Shaymin is struck by the scene; her usual cheerful and enthusiastic self is dimmed into a sad and unbelieving mood. She shakes her head, "We have to stop this. There's no point fighting this way." she furrows her brow, running to the edge of the cliff they stood on, "Stop it!" She screams at the birds, loosing a hyper beam into the midst of the brawl.  
The attack misses but draws the attention of all three birds to the small grass legend. They each charge their attacks and target Shaymin with them, causing massive damage to her and sending her skidding back to the others.  
"Shaymin!" Mew shouts, worried as she rushes to help the motionless legend.  
Shaymin's eyes are squeezed shut in excruciating pain. She tries to move her paws but can't due to her severe burns.  
Mew looks up at the birds angrily, "No one does that to my friends." she spoke with a commanding tone, glowing brightly with psychic energy and firing an energy ball at the three legendary birds.  
It strikes them, seeming to annoy them more than doing any real damage. They charge their attacks as before, firing at Mew.  
Mew protects, her eyes glowing blue with rage as she sends another set of attacks at them.  
Voltess looks after Shaymin, trying to keep her awake.  
Shaymin smiles up to Voltess, her eyes half closed, "Did I do good, Voltess? I tried to help you and Mew."  
Voltess nods, "You're a good teammate, Shaymin, and a good friend. We'll have lots of great adventures together."  
Shaymin grins, her mind starting to slip away as she drifts in a dream-like state, "I'm sure we could've done that. But I think I have to go soon...Arceus is calling me..." she starts to close her eyes, "...Arceus..."  
"No, Shaymin. Stay with me." Voltess tries but fails to snap Shaymin out of the dream-state.  
Shaymin's body relaxes, the pain evaporating as she moves on.  
Voltess starts to tear up, "Shaymin...?"  
Mew fires another psychic blast at the three birds, now starting to tire after Mew's relentless attacks.  
They glide down to the cliff's edge, perching on it to rest.  
Mew descends with them, hovering before them, "Are you calmed? Can you live peacefully?" she asks, her eyes still glowing blue.  
The three birds glance between each other. Articuno, the center one, replies, "I think...we can agree on some things. We will return to our homes and end the fight."  
"And you won't restart it." Mew adds, moving in a threatening way.  
Articuno nods, "We will not, restart it."  
Mew's eyes fade to their normal color and she smiles, "That's good."  
Zapdos and Moltres spread their wings for take off, flying off to their respective mountains.  
Articuno turns to Mew, "Thank you. I fear we would've raged for eons if you hadn't intervened."  
Mew nods, her smile fading, "You're welcome." she mutters, remembering the price of victory.  
Articuno senses this, "Your friend. Is she...?"  
Mew nods, "She's gone. A few minutes ago."  
Articuno hangs his head, "I, apologize. I have no way of repaying your sacrifice."  
"Just go. And don't make us come here again!" Mew shouts, starting to cry.  
Articuno ruffles his feathers, taking off in a clumsily in his haste.  
Mew watches him leave, making sure he was gone before collapsing, "Shaymin sacrificed herself trying to stop the fighting. How will we ever live up to that?" she sobs.  
Voltess approaches Mew, placing a comforting paw on her shoulder, "We always try our best. That's what she always wanted us to do and that's how we'll honor her memory."  
Mew sniffs, "You're right. She wouldn't want us to dwell on her death like this." she rubs her eyes, "We keep going." she stands up proudly, "For Shaymin." she raises her paw.  
Voltess smiles, raising her paw as well, "For Shaymin."  
Lugia grins as she watches the exchange, pulling herself up off the ground and limping towards the team, "I watched you fighting. You're a great leader, Mew."  
"Thanks. I couldn't do it with out my team, though." Mew replies.  
"I'd like to join you, if you'll have me." Lugia asks with hopeful smile and nod.  
Mew's face lights up with joy, "Of course we'll have you! Members always welcome." she smiles, "Welcome to Team Legends, Lugia."  
Lugia smiles widely, "Thank you so much." she laughs, "I'll do my best."  
"That's all we can ask of you." Mew replies, leading her team away from the scene.  
Voltess pauses at Shaymin's body, _I can't just leave her lying there. I should bring her along for a proper burial at the tree._ She nods, scooping Shaymin's small body up off the ground, _She would've wanted to be near the tree and her team._ She reasons, catching up with Mew and Lugia.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Moving on

Mew lays the strange flower that Shaymin always wore on top of the small grave. It's petals had started to wilt without Shaymin to keep it alive.  
Voltess glances away, not wanting to cry at the rather casual funeral, "I, uh, didn't really know Shaymin that long but in the few weeks that we spent together, she became a good friend of mine. I could always count on her being there in dungeons and on rescues, knowing she'd cover me if something happened." Voltess starts a eulogy, hoping Mew would jump in with something soon, "She had a small presence for being legendary. Hardly knew she was there until she spoke and, I'll miss her." she finishes, "I'll miss her.  
Mew glances down, on the verge of tears, "Shaymin was a loyal and helpful team member. A one of a kind sort of pokemon." she starts, "I doubt, that I could ever find another quite like her." she starts to sob, burying her face in Lugia's wing feathers.  
"Good bye, Shaymin." Lugia states simply, having nothing else to say in the solemn atmosphere.  
The Great Tree seemed to grieve the loss as well, its leaves seemed duller and the air didn't sparkle the way it usually did.  
Lugia tries to comfort Mew, "I think we've said all we can for her." she mentions, "Shaymin needs to rest in peace now." she smiles, wiping away one of Mew's tears with her wing tip.  
Mew sniffles, "You're right." she replies, wiping her eyes, "We need to move on and work toward the dream that Shaymin sacrificed herself for. Peace among all." Mew finishes her speech with a smile, obviously feeling better, "We'll take on more missions tomorrow. Let's rest for now."  
Voltess nods, dashing for the passages, while Lugia settles near the base of the trunk. She's too big to fit in the treetop fort so must sleep outside.  
Mew returns to the base and beelines for her hammock. She's asleep before Voltess arrives, exhausted from battling Articuno and the others.

Her dreams are not peaceful, filled with evil and sinister energy. A recurring shape haunts Mew's dreamscape.  
A bird-like pokemon looms over a group of helpless pokemon, laughing manically.  
Mew jolts awake, angry rather than scared, "I know you're here! Show yourself!" she yells, not caring who she woke in the process.  
A shadow stirs on the floor, slowly forming and taking on a billowing shape. Darkrai hovers before her.  
"Why are you doing this?" Mew demands.  
"I had to warn you." Darkrai replies.  
"I don't want to be warned. I want to sleep and have happy, peaceful dreams like I always do." she rants, "Nightmares are scary and they freak me out and I can't sleep so go away." she finishes, glaring at Darkrai.  
He seems to sigh, bowing his head only slightly, "My apologies. I thought you'd like to know what I could sense would happen." he looks up at Mew, his eye glowing against the darkness of the room, "If you will not help then I suppose I will have to prevent the terrible events myself." he finishes, fading away once more.  
Mew felt slightly guilty after Darkrai left, he'd only been trying to warn her in the best way he knew. She sighs; at least the nightmares were over.


End file.
